


Operation Rattlesnake

by Cimorene105



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Other, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-09-03 05:21:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8698663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cimorene105/pseuds/Cimorene105
Summary: While working on Operation Cobra with Emma, Henry Mills makes it his mission to figure out the fairytale background of the most mysterious person in town, the elusive Mr. Gold.





	

The bell at the front of the shop tinkled, triggering a heavy but silent sigh from the shop's owner. There was never any peace to be had. Why did he own this place again?

"How may I be of service?" Mr. Gold asked the supposed customer as he pushed aside the doorway curtain to the main room with his cane.

"I'm wondering what you can tell me about this book I've got." The young quality of the voice informed Mr. Gold that his gaze should be aimed a couple feet lower than he'd assumed.

"Henry, what a surprise. Why do you need me to tell you about something you already know so intimately?" Mr. Gold inquired as he set aside his cane and leaned over the counter on an elbow to look at the boy on a deceptively equal level.

Wide brown eyes peered up at the old dragon - or maybe reticent hermit? Henry's mind immediately went over all the characters in the book he was currently holding out to the mysterious man, as it did every time Henry saw him. It was time to end the enigma, but there was no need to let Mr. Gold know that. This one was crafty. Another characteristic to add to the list of qualities that would hopefully help Henry to understand who Mr. Gold used to be.

"Well, you know antiques," another quality to note, "and I don't. What can you tell me about the book's history?"

Mr. Gold carefully accepted the leather-bound pages and gave the item a cursory glance. He turned it over, not really needing to. He already knew the history of the book, but Henry would have to work that out on his own. Something told Mr. Gold it wouldn't take long; Henry was a smart kid.

"The gold leaf on the cover's lettering is genuine, and with a sample to analyze I could tell you how many karats and what kind of agent binds it. The cover is genuine, hand-crafted leather," no need to tell the boy it was a layer of dragon hide; he wouldn't think to ask anyway, "and the pages are fine-quality, hand-pressed, starched cotton."

"What about how old it is?" Henry asked hopefully, still waiting for anything to click in his mind about the man he was really speaking with.

"That's a bit more difficult to tell, Henry," Gold claimed with a small toss of his head to move his hair away from his face. One of his hands moved to trail a finger over the lettering ridges on the cover. "You see this, Henry? This uneven softening of the edges on the pressed letters could come from wearing over time, but it could also come from hand-carving with a make-shift tool from before book pressing was wide-spread. That would make it much older."

Henry nodded, then caught a small movement he was probably not meant to see. He might even have missed it if he had actually been thinking about the book. As it was, Henry's mind was furiously working on deciphering Mr. Gold as Mr. Gold deciphered the book. As the man spoke, the thumb of his hand holding the spine traced a small innocuous indent in the leather. Mr. Gold knew that indent. He knew how it got there. More importantly, he knew everything about that book.

"You know everything about that book, don't you, Mr. Gold? Who made the indent on the spine? Who made the book?" Henry gave Mr. Gold a look that said it was pointless to give denials.

In his mind, Gold cackled with glee. "I'm sorry, Henry, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm sure with time, I could infer a number of things from the markings on this book, but I'm afraid we may never know whose imagination created these fairytale retellings or who accidentally made any number of marks on it."

"How do you know its author isn't listed without even opening the book? How do you know that mark was an accident? How do you know they're retellings instead of the classic fairy tales? You're incriminating yourself, Mr. Gold." A sudden thought struck Henry as he watched Mr. Gold's poker face twitch with the hint of a smile. How could Mr. Gold know about that book without being aware of the curse?

"You know it's all true, don't you? You know about the curse. You know my mom is the savior and my other mom is the evil queen."

At that, Mr. Gold's face broke into a genuine grin. "Henry, it appears that your imagination is as expansive as the author's. You could write a sequel."

Henry gave a wry smile in return. "And you could bind it and illustrate it for me, to match yours. You're a good artist, Mr. Gold. Which one is your story?"

"Ah, Henry... I'm afraid you overestimate me. My imagination isn't as creative as yours and the book's author's." Gold handed back the book, not even opening it.

Disappointed, Henry accepted back the book. Why couldn't Mr. Gold admit it when he was caught?

"You don't give up easy, Mr. Gold, but I'll figure you out eventually. I'll find your story, and then I'll know who you are." Henry didn't mean it to sound quite so threatening, but given the dangerous air surrounding the recipient of the threat, he couldn't make himself regret it.

"I look forward to it, Henry. It would be interesting to talk to you about fairy tales again." He didn't, in fact, look forward to it. Once Henry knew who he was, the boy wouldn't talk to Gold so freely, and Gold would miss his random yet amiable chats with the boy.

The bell tinkled again as Henry left, and this time, Gold's sigh was audible in the empty shop.


End file.
